Woman of the Blue Moon
by HolyGrail2007
Summary: After Joey's birthday, he starts having strange visions. When strange women start appearing, mysterious, dangerous forces come to power. Joey and friends must combat these powers, as well as the darkness in their own hearts, to save the day. JoeyMai
1. My Birthday

Mai's brand new Mercedes was the first thing I saw as I exited the school. Damn, she really knew how to spend money; this was the hottest thing out there. She smiled at me and Serenity as we came up to her car.  
"Ready to go?" She asked. It was my birthday today, and I couldn't honestly think of a better time then to spend it out with all of my friends. My drunk-ass father would give me a present I'd rather not get, like a beating or a beer, and I never liked spending time with my mother, she made me too agitated.  
"This my present?" I asked excitedly, knowing that it wasn't true, but it was all right to dream a little. Serenity chuckled.  
"Of course, Joey, of course. Whatever you want." Mai said, passing me the keys.  
"You serious?" I asked excitedly.  
"No, dumbass, it's still mine. But I'm letting you drive it." She must've heard that I passed my driver's test a few weeks ago, cause I hadn't seen her between now and then. I hopped in the driver's side and Mai took shotgun, Serenity piling in the back. I couldn't help but act like a little kid as I fiddled with the seat and placed my hand on the wheel.  
"Come on, Joey, pull out already. I love the car too, but we've gotta go pick up Yugi and the others at the Game Shop." I nodded, and pulled out, the sleek silver car was a standout, and I couldn't help but wave to some girls sheepishly while I drove out onto the road.  
"Man, Mai, this must've been expensive." I said, putting on a pair of sunglasses.  
"Not as much as you'd think." She responded, opening the window and letting the wind sweep her long hair back.  
"Ah, so you stole the car?" I asked as a joke.  
"Sometimes, Joey, you need to keep quiet." She joked back. I pulled the car into the Game Shop. Tristan was waiting outside, his hands jammed into his pockets.  
"Happy birthday, asshole." He said, putting me into a headlock. I slipped out and smiled, I had no reason to retaliate, it was my day anyway.  
  
"Yuge is just helping Grandpa make a few sales, he says it's been pretty busy today." I went inside, and found that Tristan had not exaggerated, the shop was busy today.  
"Hello, Joey." Grandpa said from behind the register kindly. I waved to him as the other three I was traveling with came up behind me. Yugi was running the new cash register and handling sales as quickly as his grandfather.  
"You gotta stop workin'." I said with a grin. "It's my birthday."  
"I'll be just a second Joey." He said with a smile. I sat back and relaxed, I had nowhere else I wanted to be then with my friends, so I didn't mind a little waiting.  
  
When Yugi finally finished, Grandpa reluctantly let him go. The store was still busy, but since my birthday came only once a year, and my seventeenth birthday only once, he caved in.  
"You'll be fine, Grandpa, just make sure you pace yourself." Yugi said before bounding outside. Tristan and Serenity hopped on his motorcycle while me, Mai, and Yugi took the car. I got to drive it again to the restaurant. Mai had called ahead with reservations, and we got in pretty quickly and seated.  
  
"Happy birthday, Joey." They said. At least the waiters weren't going around singing, I was embarrassed enough. We wasted the time; a normally forty minute meal went to around three hours. Eventually, the restaurant was closing, and we grudgingly packed up all of our stuff and left. I had gotten some pretty cool shit, but the real gift was the best time I ever had, away from the hell that was my life at home. I was going to stay at Mom's with Serenity, so Mai dropped us off and gave me a flirty wink as the new Mercedes backed out of our driveway.  
  
"Man, she's something." I said, not realizing that I was talking out loud.  
"I'm right here, Joey." Serenity said.  
"Oh, uh, I meant..." I quickly tried to talk myself out of this mess. They couldn't know about my feelings for Mai. I mean, rationalize it, Mai's a mean bitch and acts like the best thing to come around since free wings. But still, that was hot. I mean, she had confidence, and she wasn't always mean.  
"Joey, c'mon. You're feelings are evident enough to everyone, even Mai. Why don't you go for it." She said before going into the house. I watched her go inside, and then I looked to the moon, which was full tonight, and starting thinking to myself. Why didn't I? I didn't want to be forward, but things like that are all about risk. I decided to take a walk in the back for a sec. There were some woods nearby, and it opened into a clearing that seemed to be an intentionally planted garden because it had plants that I'd never even seen before. It was a place I liked to sit in and think, because not many people went there but me. I'd seen Mai there before, once, and she lad been looking at her reflection in the small pond there for an extended moment. It really confused me, but Mai was Mai, I'm sure if it were important, she would have told us anyway.  
  
But as I walked there, I couldn't help but feel the air get really cold. It was much colder then the rest of the place, but there was no wind or anything. It almost felt unworldly, like a ghost was sneaking up behind me. But there was nothing there; nothing to suggest anything was out of the ordinary except the chill.  
  
But when I walked closer, I noticed that there was a fountain in the middle of the woods. A small, stone fountain that was a scene of Cupid pouring water from a kind of pot. I walked over to it, was it something someone had put in recently. I didn't know, but it was interesting. Why would someone put a fountain in the middle of the woods? I was really thirsty, so I decided that it would be okay to take a drink of the water, I mean, it was just water. When I drank it, I got a strange dizzy feeling, like the entire woods started spinning like a top. The next thing I knew, I hit the ground.  
  
"Is this the human?" I heard a female voice ask in my mind. "It seems that it doesn't have what I want right yet, but it is still early yet. There may be a chance for this one, and maybe we'll finally get what we seek." Her voice was slightly scratchy, but I got a definite picture in my mind. It was a tall woman dressed in a loose dress. Her skin was pale as snow, and she had teal green colored hair that billowed freely off of her head and down to her waist. The strangest woman I had ever seen, and that was the picture I drew from her voice. When I stood up and brushed the dirt off of my clothes, I noticed that the fountain had gone. What the fuck was happening, was I dreaming? I couldn't be, my mouth tasted like dirt and I still felt the dull thud from when I hit the ground. So if I wasn't dreaming, then what the hell was happening? Who was that woman, and what did she want? Those thoughts stayed with me as I returned to the house, got undressed, and finally shut my eyes. 


	2. When Men get their visions

When I woke up the next day, I had a huge-ass headache. I was so glad it was Saturday so that I could spend the whole day relaxing anyway. I still saw that woman in my mind, the teal-haired woman with the white skin. Who was she? And why did she haunt my mind so? Only Mai was able to do that, and she had good reason to.  
"Hey, Joey!" Mai's loud, boisterous voice sounded. I was home alone; Serenity and Mom had gone shopping, so she came in without knocking and barged open the door to my room. I was laying in bed, and instantly covered myself with the blankets, being more naked then I cared to be around Mai right now.  
"Gonna sleep all day?" She asked. "Its noon, come on!" She ordered, taking my hand. I immediately broke free of her grip.  
"I just had a headache, let me get a shower." I said. Mai nodded and left the room, allowing me to pick up the change of clothes I brought over and hop in the shower.  
  
As I started cleaning myself, I thought about the woman some more. She seemed so different and yet so natural, and what the hell was up with that fountain, was I hallucinating? Did Tristan or someone as a practical joke slip something funny in my food? Probably not, they wouldn't do anything dangerous, more then likely I was just daydreaming.  
"Hey, Joey, you're like a woman when it comes to getting a shower." Mai opened the bathroom door and shouted to me while I was still in the shower. I grinned, got ready, and quickly followed her out the door.  
"I'll drive, we're going for a ride." She said. We never had gone for a ride before, what was she up to?  
"Hey, were you feeling okay last night?" She asked.  
"Why?" I was confused. Did she know something about the woman?  
"Nothing much, Tristan said he started having these strange visions when he slept last night, and they gave him nightmares. Something also happened to me, but I remember very little about it, only that I wasn't feeling well in the morning. Did something happen to you or was it just some kind of coincidence." So I wasn't just imaging things, but it didn't answer any questions. I told Mai about the fountain, and the woman. Although it happened only for a second, I could swear I saw a look of knowledge across her face, but in a flash, it was gone.  
"You know something about it?"  
"Just some stupid myth I heard when I was a kid, but that's all it is." She responded. "Let's go to Tristan and see if you're image matches his."  
  
Tristan was sitting up in his room, but his face was extremely agitated. He looked like he was having mondo headaches like me.  
"What the hells up with you?" I asked as a joke.  
"These...these damn visions are interfering with my normal thoughts. I thought they would have ended after I woke up, but I still keep seeing them."  
"Hey, ever see a woman with green hair?"  
"Once, but I've seen so many that I can't remember much about her." Tristan looked like he was really having head problems: He was on his knees, and one hand was kept on the ground as if he would fall down if it wasn't there. Mai and I helped him sit on the bed.  
"Serenity is coming over later tonight, I called her and told her about it, and she's gonna stay over tonight."  
"I insisted." Mai said before I could retort. I couldn't argue with her, so I grudgingly said fine. Tristan looked quite pleased at the situation.  
"C'mon Joey, Tristan seems fine and when he can stop seeing pictures like a crazy, we can all go to the movies. We're going to Varon's, come on." She dragged me by the arm and nearly flung me into the car.  
  
Varon had come to town not long after we met him in America, and now he ran an antique armor store in the city. There were more buyers in the city then we thought, and Varon made a lot of money. He still exhibited antique collections of armor from all over the world, and we often came just to chat and look around.  
When we came in, Varon was polishing a piece from Europe, and he went right over to Mai and kissed her hand. She batted her eyes at him playfully, and then smacked him upside the head.  
"Don't kiss me." She ordered flatly. Varon rubbed his cheek as we started looking around. He went back to his work, and I was still having a headache, so we didn't stay long. I took a seat and got a soda while Mai and Varon chatted about something. Were they serious? Were they going out? Probably not, guess that meant the room was still open for me. I drifted off to sleep while waiting, and when I dreamed, I thought I saw the green haired woman again. I moved forward, trying to find her, but I fell on my face and woke up instead.  
"Fuck!" I cursed. That was really embarrassing, and Mai had been watching, so she couldn't stop laughing as we drove back to Tristan's house.  
  
Serenity and Tristan were up in his room, and she had a deck of Tarot cards. She had bought them once for fun, but I never got how they worked. She didn't take it seriously, and neither did anyone else I know.  
"Hey guys, Tristan and I were just playing a game. I had to use these because someone stole my other cards. Tristan can guess these cards pretty well."  
"What do you mean?" Mai asked.  
"Watch. Tristan, what card am I holding up?"  
"King of Swords." He answered after shutting his eyes and concentrating.  
"He's right. He's gotten every one right since we started playing. Maybe those strange visions he's been having mean that he can predict the future?" Serenity suggested.  
"That sounds really absurd." Mai said.  
"Yeah, no one can predict the future, it just happens. Tristan just has dumb luck, with emphasis on the dumb" I said. Tristan responded by giving me a noogie, which cracked Serenity and Mai up both.  
"Probably." Tristan said. "But when I beat your ass at cards next time, better not say I cheat!" He and Serenity went back to their card game.  
"You're feeling better?" I asked.  
"Yeah, I'm not having the visions anymore, or rather, I can stop seeing them if I try not to. I don't get it, maybe we'll ask Yugi and the spirit of the puzzle tomorrow." He said. Mai and I saw that the problem was under control, so we left and went back to her house. My father was assuredly drunk, so, rather then chance waking him up and earning a bloodletting, I asked to stay at her place. Mai seemed a little nervous at first, but I laughed at her, asking her what was up. She smiled, said nothing, and drove to her house.  
  
Mai's apartment was about as big as the one my father and I lived in. She had only one bedroom, but the couch would suit me just fine.  
  
Restlessly, I tossed and turned. That strange woman was haunting me. Once, I woke up in the middle of the night, hoping the get some air, when I saw Mai on the porch. She looked out at the moon, and she looked...almost different. Maybe it was just a trick with the light, or maybe my mind was playing tricks on my overactive imagination, but I could swear she was as pale as the woman in my visions. I wanted to go talk to her, but I was so awestruck at the similarity that I couldn't budge from the couch. She appeared to be holding something in her hands, and then she put it in her pocket, and walked away back to her room.  
  
For some reason, I was so shaken by that incident. Was it something I wasn't supposed to see? And why did Mai appear that way? In the morning, she looked fine as always. I don't think it could have been the moonlight, she was paler then that. As she drove me back to my house so I could get some new clothes, I could swear that something had woken me up to see that moment. I had been able to sleep despite the visions of the woman except for that one moment. It couldn't been something practical, was it a coincidence, or was it something...more? 


	3. Two Mysterious Women

The next day, I was determined, no matter what, to find out more about the woman. She was haunting my dreams, and it was hard to sleep when I saw her. When I woke up, Mai and I had breakfast, and then I went back to my house. I dreaded coming into my house, cause who knew what my father would be like. To my relief, he was passed out on the floor. I secretly hoped he'd choke as I changed and left the house quickly.  
  
I went over to Tristan's to pick up Serenity. I had a key, and I could come in whenever, so I opened the door, went upstairs, and caught Tristan and Serenity sneaking pecks at each other. She giggled as he kissed her neck, and I immediately felt like puking.  
"Ahem!" I said, calling them to my attention. "Should I come back in a hour or when Serenity..."  
Serenity cut me off.  
"It's nothing serious." Her talking came abruptly. "It's just...harmless, harmless flirting."  
"Yeah, and it was fun!" Tristan said. Serenity smacked her forehead at his stupid comment.  
"I'll fun you!" I said, twisting Tristan's arm into an arm lock.  
"Stop." Serenity ordered, and I did. Man, sometimes she just didn't get fun.  
"Hey, Tristan, any more freaky visions about the green haired woman?" I asked. Was there a connection that Tristan and I were the ones who saw this woman?  
"Not really, I've been seeing a different woman. She wore a hood and dressed like she was poor. She was saying something, but I couldn't remember what it was.  
"Why don't we use Serenity's Tarot cards?" I joked. I meant it only as a joke, but Serenity actually seemed to enjoy the thought.  
"Maybe it can explain something." She said. "It couldn't hurt, could it?" I thought it was just some dumb superstition that people used to play on the fear of dumb fucks that believed it, but Serenity wasn't dumb, and we didn't have any answers.  
  
Tristan drew the cards, and picked out The Fool first.  
"Looks like this readings about you." Tristan said to me. I resisted the urge to punch him on. He drew a second card and picked up some card called the Queen of Swords.  
"Hey, it's a woman. According to how these are supposed to work, it's a woman scarred by pain and loss. So, I guess that means a dark hero." Tristan said. He drew another card and it was the Ace of Cups.  
"Hey, she's falling in love with someone, and that's something she never intended."  
"Are you saying that the mystery woman is falling in love with me? Well, I am good looking." I said, boasting. Tristan rolled his eyes.  
"No, The Queen of Swords is falling in love with you. Now, let's get another one." Tristan drew again and drew the High Priestess, but it was upside down."  
"A selfish woman. Man, Joey, you can pick them. Let's see what else is coming." He drew again and drew a card called The Moon.  
"So, she's deceiving you. Better watch out for that woman." He said, shuffling the cards again. He picked out another Queen, the Queen of Rods, again upside down.  
"God, Joey, you get the bad women." Tristan said as he laid the card down. The Queen of Rods upside down meant a wise woman who uses her power for unjust ends. He drew another card, but this card was black, all black. When Tristan drew it, he immediately put his hand to his head, and starting breathing heavily.  
"You okay." Serenity hugged his shoulders.  
"Uhhh...yeah. I think so. I don't know what that card means, but every time I draw it, I get a headache. I think I've done what I can. So Joey's got one good women and two bad."  
"I ain't the fool!" I shouted. Tristan rolled his eyes again, he didn't believe me. What the hell was I worried about, these were just cards.  
  
I went back to Mom's house, and decided to head back to the garden. That was where I saw the woman, and that was where I wanted to go if I wanted to see her. As I walked down there, I got my hopes up; it was getting cold again. But I didn't see the fountain.  
"Hello!" I called out. "Is there someone there?" I said. I was greeted with a rustling form the bushes, and a beautiful figure came out of the bushes.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, is this garden yours?" She asked. She had a breathy voice, a very sexy voice. Maybe not as sexy as Mai, but I could definitely feel myself attracted.  
"Yeah, are you lost?" I asked.  
"Sort of, I'm looking for something. Something I've lost a long time ago."  
"What did you lose?" I asked. I looked into her eyes, green charming things that invoked feelings of warmth and trust.  
"My grandmother's pendant." She said. "It's round and has an emerald inside. Have you seen it? I lost it around here."  
"No, I haven't, but I'll..." I trailed off, looking into her eyes. She was beautiful, maybe the most beautiful person I'd ever seen.  
"What are you starin at?" My subconscious yelled at me. "You like Mai, quit staring at some chick just 'cause she's got pretty eyes." My real self wasn't listening, just looking at her.  
"Call me Andrea. I'll come back here in three days, and we can look for it again." She said with a wink, pronouncing it like "Ann-dray-ah." And then she darted off into the woods.  
  
"I hope you don't trust her." Came a voice from behind me. It was the woman's voice! I turned around quickly and there she was, the green haired, pale skinned woman. She was dressed in a short dress that exposed much of her legs, and it was adorned with flowers. She reminded me of a beautiful hippie.  
"Huh?" I said, confused.  
"Do you know who that was? That pendant she talks about does not belong to her. It actually belongs to me. Of course, I will be more forthcoming to prove my position and answer any questions you may have."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Are you still in awe at her beauty? Men. She asked you to find an emerald pendant that belongs to her grandmother, and I say that the pendant is not hers."  
"What pendant? Why does she want it if it ain't hers, the bitch wanna sell it?"  
"Do you remember that you and your male friend have been having visions?"  
"Yeah, you know why? Tell me."  
"Your friend Tristan Taylor is having visions because he has Vistani blood, he is a gypsy."  
"Gypsy? You mean those people in Europe that rob you?"  
"No, I mean gypsies that had the gift of foresight. His gift is quite strong, and that is why his affinity with the cards is great. You can trust him, and you can trust me. You cannot trust this Andrea."  
"What about me, am I a gypsy?"  
"No, you are having visions because your Andrea was trying to reach out to you. She wanted to put images into your mind to make you fear me. You can trust me, and I will help you."  
"Help? Who are you?"  
"You may call me Tatiana." She responded. Man, whenever she talked, she made me dizzy.  
"How are you going to help me?" I asked. She was a lot of talk, but no action. I much preferred a girl like Mai.  
"Because I have not only the power to make the visions stop before more painful ones emerge, but I can give you the power to contend with Andrea. Wouldn't power impress the woman you really like."  
"Wait, how do you know about Mai?"  
"I have watched you, Joseph. I apologize, but I had to make sure I could depend on you. She is a woman who loves power, no? Follow me, and I will give you the power that you need."  
  
I stopped for a second. Of course I wanted to impress Mai, and I knew she liked rich, powerful men, and that I was neither of those. If I could get stronger, then she'd like me? And, if I got really strong, I wouldn't be afraid to ask her on a date because she likes strong guys.  
"Alright, I'll help you."  
"Good. I'll give you everything you want once you bring me the pendant. We must stop her from getting it, and I can defeat her. The pendant is somewhere nearby, but there is a sacrifice that must be made to it. I will leave that to you. Then, you must perform a magic ritual to release it. I will teach you this ritual now. Return when you get the pendant, but return only at night."  
  
She waved her hands around, and it made me kinda dizzy, but then I felt something in the back of my mind. How to break the bond of something like for the pendant. I turned around to ask Tatiana another question, but she had disappeared.  
"Weird." I noted. I was getting really dizzy again, and this time, my dreams weren't about the strange Tatiana, nor about Andrea.  
  
I dreamed about Mai. 


	4. Inside the Rock

Waking up the next morning, I immediately wanted to find out where this pendant was that Tatiana wanted. I wanted to be quickly able to get it to her so I could get the power she wanted and impress Mai.  
"Agh, Mom and her damn knickknacks!" Serenity screamed from downstairs.  
"Serenity?" I asked.  
"Mom bought another of those stupid little statues she collects, and she put it on the shelf. My report was on the shelf and she moved it. God, where'd she move it to!" Serenity started searching in the family room. Yeah, Mom had these stupid little knickknacks she liked to buy and put on the shelves. Mostly they were pretty stupid, but sometimes they were cool, so I decided to take a look.  
  
This one in question was pretty dumb looking. It was a rock that looked similar to a fist, and it was grabbing the chain to a necklace or bracelet, some kind of jewelry. All I could see of the thing inside was a small bit of the chain; the rest was inside the rock.  
"God, where does Mom get these stupid things?" I wondered, but then I felt something in the back of my head, and I was getting curious. What was in that rock?  
"No, there's no way." I reasoned. It can't be the pendant Tatiana was looking for, could it? This would just be way too easy.  
"It couldn't hurt to try out that ritual she was supposed to teach you." I thought. So I touched the rock, just to see if I could loosen it a little. I figured if it was the one I was looking for, then getting the pendant out was what I wanted to do, and if it wasn't what I was looking for, then this whole ritual thing wouldn't work.  
  
When I touched the rock, it felt warm, and I heard a female voice in my head.  
"The sacrifice of life, for one of love." It said. I let go of the rock quickly. Sacrifice of life? What the hell was this all about? Come to think of it, didn't Tatiana mention a sacrifice? Whoa, this girl was serious.  
"Well, maybe I'll just bring the rock to her and she can figure it out." I mentioned before bounding out the door.  
  
After school, I decided to surprise Mai by showing up at her house unexpectedly. We were friends, but I wanted to become more then that. When I got there, Mai was just about to leave.  
"Oh...uh...Joey." She said, flustered.  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
"Nothing, nothing at all." She said agitated. What was wrong?  
"Come on." I prodded, trying to be cheerful. "You know you can tell me anything." Rather then be happy, Mai scowled.  
"You just don't get it. You're so dense!" She said, slapping me. Before I could react, she climbed in that new Mercedes and drove away.  
  
I stood there, staring for a minute. Did I do something wrong? I didn't understand, I only wanted to help her, to show her that I would be there for her, and she slaps me for it. Maybe I could ask her when she got back.  
  
Of course, Mai wasn't showing up. I stayed outside her house until late at night. When I decided that maybe this was a fruitless endeavor, the Mercedes finally drove in. Mai was alone, so I went up to her.  
"I've been watching you all night." She said. "You were really going to stay until I came back, were you?" I wasn't going to admit now that I was about to leave.  
"Mai, why won't you talk to me?" I asked, trying to put on my best innocent puppy look.  
"I..." She started. "Come inside, it's too late for you to catch a cab home." She said. She led me to her apartment.  
  
I always loved the furnishings in Mai's apartment; it seemed to suit her so well.  
"You can crash on the couch." She said.  
"Mai, why can't you talk to me?" I asked.  
"Why..." She trailed off.  
"I want to be here for you. When Marik put you under his spell, we broke it together. We were that strong together, and I can't stand to see you upset. Talk to me, even if it's something I don't know very well."  
"Joey..." She started, and then she looked away.  
"I..." She spoke as if she didn't know what to say. "I've never...met anyone like you before. I used to fight all of my battles by myself; the only way to get stronger was to be self-reliant. But...when...I'm around you, I feel as if I can be weak. No, not just can, that it is all right to. Because.... jeez, I don't do this very well, but...when I'm..."  
I cut her off. "Mai, you don't have to worry about wording. Speak like you normally would. Whenever I'm around you, I feel as though I can be strong, even though I'm not." I said, hugging her.  
"Joey, you are strong. Strong enough for anyone." She said. Did she really mean that? I always thought I was pretty weak because I failed at a lot of things.  
I played off of that. "If I'm strong, it's because of you. So please, talk to me."  
  
"Joey, I...I don't want to lose you."  
"You're not gonna." I said, trying my best to be as sincere and sympathetic as I could sound. It wasn't easy, cause I really hadn't practiced it. I wasn't the best at making people feel better.  
"But...I have a feeling...that you're going after something...dangerous." She said. "If it was me, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm worried about you."  
  
"What could I possibly be doing that dangerous." I tried to laugh, but couldn't. I had told her I was going to find the green-haired woman.  
"Don't worry, all my crazy nightmares ended. My dreams are all about the normal stuff." It was true, my nightmares had ended. But I left out the part that I was helping the green haired woman. Plus, Mai was in my dreams, and she was scarcely normal.  
"I hope you're right." She said, drawing me into an embrace. God, she was strong, stronger then me. I returned it.  
"I'll never do anything that'll make us lose each other." I said. Good God, I wanted to kiss her, but I didn't want to be too forward. So I stayed hugging her for a little while longer.  
"You're dense, Joey." Mai murmured. She was half asleep, so I laid her down in her bedroom. I would've shared the night with her, and even though my heart and my body were all for that, I couldn't.  
  
My cell phone rang.  
"Yo, Joey." It was Tristan. "Where are you?"  
"Mai's"  
"Alright, well, come to my house tomorrow. I found something out about that green-haired woman.  
"Alright."  
"Where's Mai now?"  
"Sleepin'."  
"And you're awake."  
"You know I don't sleep well."  
"Come on Joey, I don't need to be a Vistani with foresight to know that you love her." I was taken aback. If it had been a half hour earlier, I would have punched him out for saying that. Now, it just kind of mellowed me a little. I guess it was known.  
"So what?" I said. That's exactly what I thought Mai would say. Gotta be strong, that way, Mai would like me better.  
"A guy knows when a guy likes a girl, if it wasn't so blatantly obvious already. So, I'm going to tell you that if you have any woman trouble, I'd be happy to help."  
"What makes you the expert on women?"  
"What makes you think I'll give a truthful answer?"  
"Good call." I noted. "But I can handle this." I flipped off the phone and fell asleep, but this time, my dreams were horrible. I had that knickknack of Mom's in my hand, and I saw Mai. Nothing else happened, but when I woke up, I couldn't shake off that terrible feeling of dread. 


	5. How did I fail her

The next day, I skipped school. A bunch of us did, and we all went to Tristan's. Mai was absent, which worried me initially, but then again, maybe it was just that she wasn't told.  
"So, Tristan, what was the thing you found out?"  
"That green haired woman you described, I saw a painting like it." Serenity said. "The painting was entitled The Faerie Queene." The Faerie Queene? There was a book written like that by some British dude, but I couldn't remember what it was called. Well, I knew there was something unnatural about her, but that was just...  
"Any info on what she wants?"  
"Nope. I try to read the cards, and all I get is that she is a greedy, deceitful woman." Tristan said, fiddling with a bandana on his head. Ever since he found out he had gypsy blood in him, he went a little crazy like that. I personally thought it was annoying, but whatever floats his boat. Serenity thought it was cute.  
"So, I gotta be careful around her. Okay, maybe I can trick her or something." I said with a laugh.  
"Joey, you're not exactly the smartest person." Tristan said. "It won't be easy to trick someone like her."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I shouted, ready to clobber him. He chuckled, and so did Serenity and Yugi. Angrily, I grabbed my jacket and left.  
  
"Hold up." Tristan said. We were in the foyer, and I could tell he wanted to talk privately, about Mai.  
"What? Gonna give me woman advice?" I joked.  
"No, I'm going to warn you. Be careful of all the women you meet. Although I gather the Faerie Queene was the Queen of Rods, we don't know anything about the High Priestess. That's another woman, so be careful." He said before darting off. Although was happy he told me that, I got the feeling there was something he was holding back. Something about Mai.  
"What...aren't you telling me?" I wondered.  
  
I went back to Mom's and decided to take another look at that rock. Maybe I could figure out if we could pry the hand open, or burn it away with acid. Then maybe I could take the stupid thing to the Faerie Queene without that sacrifice nonsense. When I got to the house, I noticed that the front door was ajar. Was it a burglar? In the middle of the day, probably not. Then I noticed Mai's car in the driveway. When did she get here?  
  
I walked inside, and there she was, standing at the kitchen table. She was holding the rock n her hand, and looking right at me.  
"I knew everything." She said. "I know what you're after and what happens."  
"How'd you know that?"  
"I had a dream about it." She responded. "I saw the Faerie Queene. She mentioned everything."  
"Wait, how did you know it was the Faerie Queene?" Mai paused for a second.  
"What are you afraid of?" I asked. "I said before you could tell me anything, and now you can. Please, tell me." I came close to her, and looked deep into her eyes.  
"It's...it's because..." She started, but again, she seemed unsure of how to speak.  
"It's because...I'm...well...I just had the dream is all. It's what followed the dream that worried me."  
"What worried you?" I asked sympathetically. "If it's anything, anything at all, tell me. Tell me so I know not to do it."  
"That's not it. It's not something you do; it's something that I must do. Joey, open the rock!" She ordered holding it out to me.  
"I can't. It needs a..." I started for a second. Then I realized what Mai was asking.  
"Absolutely fucking not!" I shouted. "There's no way I'll open it and let you sacrifice your life."  
"You don't really have a choice. You have to get it open because this pendant is the only thing that can stop Andrea."  
"How do you know about Andrea? The dream again?" I asked, hitting the rock out of her hand and watching it clatter on the kitchen table. She nodded and bit her lip.  
"I know you don't want me to, but this is destiny at work, kiddo." Why was she acting carefree at a time like this?  
"I ain't gonna. I don't care if Andrea starts killing people right and left, I don't want you to go!" I came in close, trying desperately to get Mai to understand me.  
"Joey..." She said, and then she moved forward and kissed me. Hard. She forced herself on me so hard that I nearly stumbled. I kissed back. I'd been waiting a long time for this. She put her hand on the back of my head, while the other grabbed my wrist. I shut my eyes, this was pure magic, everything I thought it would be.  
  
Until I realized that Mai shoved my hand on the rock, then pushed with all her strength to keep my hand from moving. I tried to break the kiss and yank, but Mai still had her vice-like grip on the back of my head, preventing me from moving. I was panicking as I felt a tingle in my hand and the loosening of the rock. No, dammit, not now! I struggled, I kept struggling, but Mai kept my hand and head in place with so much force, blood started oozing on the table.  
"So shall the sacrifice be done. I am again free." The female voice that talked about sacrifice before spoke again. Mai kept her grip, and I nearly screamed.  
  
A minute later, I felt Mai's grip loosen. I shoved her hand off of me, but it was too late. The rock itself had disappeared, and in it's place was the pendant, staring with it's single emerald eye at me like a demon. I ignored it and clutched Mai. She was still warm, but not breathing. Her heart was not pumping. I tried resuscitation even though I knew it was hopeless. I wanted to call an ambulance, but what would I say if they asked me what happened? So instead, I cried, I cried freely over her body.  
"Damn it, Mai! It didn't have to be this way." I grieved. Why did she do this, how could she do this? Didn't she understand what she was doing? What wasn't enough for her, how did I fail her?  
"You told me...you told me once that I could always count on you. But now, how could you do this? Mai, answer me!" I ordered knowing it was hopeless. I heard the door slam, and in stepped Serenity.  
"Serenity!" I cried, hugging her with so much force I nearly knocked her over.  
"Joey..." She started, taking in the scene slowly.  
"Serenity, please. Please tell me that I'm dreaming. Tell me that I dozed off in class, or that I'm upstairs this very minute. Hell, tell me I'm at Dad's, getting the shit kicked out of me. Tell me I'm not here, tell me this didn't happen!"  
"Joey..." She said softly, pushing my head to her chest. "The truth isn't always pleasant." She said.  
"What can...I do?"  
"Not something stupid." She said. "You know if you did something stupid that Mai would never forgive you."  
"What are you talking about, I wasn't going to do something stupid." I angrily broke her hug.  
She looked at me with sincerity.  
"Then why are you holding that knife?" I looked down at my hand, and noticed that I was holding one of Mom's carving knives. I didn't even remember picking it up. I'd have a hell of a time explaining to Serenity that I wasn't about to commit suicide, although I felt like it. I would have gladly committed suicide if it meant being close to Mai again.  
Serenity took the knife from my hand.  
"Come on, Joey. I'll get the others. We need...we need to give her a service." She slipped the pendant around my neck.  
"This is Mai." She said. "She gave it to you, so it is her." I didn't understand, but I think I felt better.  
  
They buried her in the garden, but I couldn't show up. I stayed upstairs and watched from the window whenever I gathered the courage, but I only looked a few times. Because whenever I looked, I saw her face. Her cold, silent, sleeping face. And then I would lose my heart, and walk away.  
  
"Mai." I grabbed the pendant in my hand. "I don't know where I failed you, but I promise that no matter what, I'll bring you back. If I have to blaspheme the name of my God and every law of nature, I'll do it."  
  
Everyone stayed over, and made sure I was never alone. They still thought I would commit suicide. I tried to insist that I would be fine, but when I went to get a snack from the kitchen, my hand drifted to the knives again, and that's when Tristan entered the room. So now they didn't trust me alone anymore. I don't know what possessed me to touch those knives; maybe I did want to kill myself. So they stayed right beside me, all of them, until I finally went to sleep.  
  
My dreams that night were horrible. I felt Mai in pain, and I reached out to her, but whenever I reached I saw her face, the face I saw at her funeral. I screamed, and kept calling out her name. That's when Serenity woke me up.  
"You were talking in your sleep. I know, it's hard, especially on you. Please, try to remember her fondly. I tried to, but it wasn't helping. That's when Tristan snuck a sleeping pill in some water to force me to sleep. I didn't realize it then, but when I woke up I knew. When I woke up, however, I knew exactly what I had to do. Whispering Mai's name softly, I awoke before everyone else. Grabbing one of the carving knives, I ran as fast as I could away. I only had one chance to do this before they caught me and locked me away. It wasn't suicide, but it was damn well close, what I was trying had never been attempted before. However, for Mai, I would do anything. 


	6. The darkness at the river's end

It wasn't that far from home, about 15 minutes running. The sheer cliffs jutted up into the sky like a giant hand. At the base of the cliffs was a river that, strangely enough, flowed inside the cliff. On the other side, there was a waterfall, I guess. This was where I needed to be.  
  
I stabbed myself with the knife, right in my arm. Blood oozed and flowed over the blade. I winced, but this was nothing compared to what I was going to do.  
"Man, Joey, you don't even know if this will work. What the hell are you doing?" My mind screamed at me. Perhaps I had lost it, but I didn't care. If I had even a glimmer of hope to see Mai again, then I'd take it. Besides, in a few days, I had dealt with magic, some creepy faerie witch, and my best friend could tell the future. If all this could happen, why not what I was attempting?  
  
I dipped the blood red knife in the water, and watched the blood flow towards the cliffs.  
"All waters that flow in the earth, flow to Hades." I intoned. This was some crappy poem I read once, supposed to be how Hercules entered Hades or something. Well, if this didn't work, I had a second way to enter, at least. I kept reading, strangely remembering how it went perfectly.  
"Alas, all life flows there too. Where these waters flow, a gate will open. It opens to soon for you." I read. The nearby grass started withering and turning brown, while birds flew away from the area as quick as they could. The Cliffside had moss and vegetation growing on it, but it quickly withered, and the cliff itself started changing. The trees' leaves started to fall, crinkle, and brown, while the tree itself turned gray and ancient. Was this working? Or was I dreaming?  
"When death is near, then pour the waters. Alas, they flow to Hades's shore. Where darkness awaits at the river's end, this lament shall open the door." I kept reading. A low rumbling started to fill the area, the grass that had turned brown was now disappearing, turning into dust, as were the leaves. Nothing living here remained but me. Only the water, which was still blue, except for where my blood touched, was unchanged.  
"Sing unto Hades this sad sorrow's song, and all life is quickly passed. Then the gates of Hades will open for you, and this song will be your last." I finished. The rumbling got louder, and I quickly lost my balance and fell. It subsided soon after, and when I woke up, I could scarcely imagine the sight.  
  
A large gate had formed in the cliffs, made of bones. Was this the gate to Hell itself? Summoning all my courage, I walked towards it. I saw something come out to meet me, a large, three-headed dog. If my mythology was correct, Cerberus was it's name, and it was the Gatekeeper to Hell.  
"You are not welcome here, living human." One of the heads, which sounded almost like a businessman, spoke to me.  
"Fuck off." I told it. "I'm a busy man, and I have no time to spend my valuable time talking to a three headed bitch." I said calmly.  
"Hades is the land of the dead, and you are alive." The businessman head responded.  
"So what."  
"That means you cannot enter until you are dead. Death is not hard to find in your world, but if you want to die so badly, then maybe I can oblige. It's been ages since I ate." The dog lunged towards me, and I hit the dirt, stabbing it in the underbelly with my knife. It yelped, just like a normal dog, and now that it was away from the door, I dashed into the gate.  
"You truly are insane. Only the dead could survive in Hades." The dog mentioned. I was only a few feet in the gate, why wasn't it attacking?  
"Yeah, you're right. I probably am insane." I said before turning away from the dog and walking into the fiery jowls of Hell itself.  
  
The first thing I noticed about Hell was that, despite the fire everywhere, the place was really cold. I kept that knife close to me as I walked through, unsure of where to begin looking. I saw some disembodied spirits floating around, and although none of them looked familiar, they all looked like they wanted to kill me. Maybe because I was alive? When they moved towards me, they went right through me, but I still couldn't shake off the cold. I kept walking, trying to ignore them, and I eventually came to a group of rivers. I didn't remember any of their names, but there were supposed to be five rivers in Hades. When I expected the skeletal visage of the boatman Charon on a boat to ferry me across, I instead saw a tall figure, maybe about 7 or 8 feet tall, of a man, with long silver hair. He wore all black, his clothes decorated with skulls.  
"Joseph Wheeler." It spoke to me. "It is not your time to be here. You will not cross the river Styx into Hades."  
"I know, guess your other guests don't like me much." I laughed, knowing that it was probably stupid.  
"I know why you wanted to come here." The man spoke to me.  
"Then I don't have to explain." I said.  
"Love transcends the very fabric of death. If you could understand those spirits, they are ones who cannot sleep because of a love that was never told, or because of lovers that still live. The spirit you are looking for..."  
"She has a name you know." I quipped. The man looked at me, and strangely he smiled. Looking at his smile, I thought I would've had a heart attack. This guy was Lucifer or Satan or whatever, and he was actually smiling at me.  
"Yes." He said. "Your spirit, Mai Valentine, is different. She would normally have been able to find piece because she willingly gave up her life for you; however, she has refused to drink the waters of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. She would rather be tormented in agony for eternity then forget about you." He raised his hand, and a strange glowing appeared to his side. I could only see the face, but before I could make anything out, I knew it was Mai.  
"I have no regrets." She said. "He needed to have that power to save the world, and I could give it to him. But I cannot forget him, I will not forget him. Yet, I feel as though I should be waiting for something. Would it be the knife through my heart, destroying me? Or would it be his warm lips upon mine? I don't care which one it was, if only he would touch me again." I reached out for her, but the tall man, Hades was his name, just like the world, raised a bone staff and blocked my attempt.  
"You could end her suffering if you wish." He said, looking at me sincerely. "You could bring her back to the life that she unnaturally ended. Would you want to give her the gift of life?"  
"If you have to ask that, then you must be pretty dense." I said. He liked it when I was gallful and daring, and it wasn't like I had anything to lose.  
"But all things have their price, and life is something expensive. You have entered freely into the Realm of the Dead, and now, you will not leave. Will you die willingly for the one you love? Will you give your life to her?" He asked me, his eyes piercing my very soul.  
  
I thought only for a second. Before I could answer, he spoke again.  
"You do realize what this means. She gave her life so that you could save the world, and now, you are giving her the very thing she doesn't want, life without you. Still, will you give your life to her?"  
"I never had much of anything. I had people that cared, sure, but that was it. She though, she never had anyone. She deserves another chance to make things right, even if I can't be there to help her. Yes, sir, I choose to give my life to her." I responded. Looking at him dead in the face. I saw him wave his hands, and I heard two spirits, two ghostlike spirits with horned skulls some up beside me. Immediately I felt cold, colder then I had ever felt. I felt them sucking the life out of me, and it was making me cold, weak, and dizzy. But all I could see was Mai's face. When I dropped to my knees, I whispered her name, and Hades himself, the Lord of the dead, brushed the spirits away, and then touched my shoulder. As soon as he touched me, I felt bodiless and empty, and then I felt nothing else.  
  
When I woke up later, the scene had not changed, except the fact that the two horned spirits were absent. I still felt cold and frail, but I felt that my heart was still beating.  
"Something go wrong?" I asked Hades. "I still feel alive. Weak, but alive." He didn't answer.  
"You have chosen to end to give your gift to her. You have unbreakable will and spirit that my spirits, and not even myself could crush. It would be foolish of me to end your life now." He said.  
"Then, what about Mai. Please, I came all the way here, and you gave me that hope. Don't you dare say I can't save her!" I shouted, raising the knife. What hope would a flimsy kitchen knife have against the Lord of the Dead? Still, I would drag her spirit out, killing everyone in my path, ghost, god, or otherwise, if that meant that Mai could come back.  
"I see light before me!" Her spirit spoke. "This nightmare is ending." Mai's ghost started to appear before me, and she was getting.... healthier. Her ghost like visage started to solidify, and her skin was turning pink.  
"Mai!" I shouted, reaching out to her. Hades stopped me again. So I watched as she returned to her old self. The only thing that was different about her was that her beautiful long blonde hair was now stark white, not like old person gray, but white. She made it look extremely attractive, though.  
"Now, I will return you both to the Land of the Living. May you both be more prepared for rest when you return." I was so happy I would've kissed him, but that would have probably killed me anyway.  
"Thanks, perhaps they will." I said. Man, only I would be so stupid as to act friendly with the Lord of the Dead. I then grabbed hold of Mai, Hades not trying to stop me this time.  
"Mai...I hope you aren't mad when you wake up. I just...I just can't imagine myself without you." I whispered to her. She looked alive but she wasn't responsive yet. Maybe I needed to wait until we got back. I then felt myself floating, and I looked up at the sky, to see a giant light rising to meet us.  
  
When I wok up, it took me a sec to realize that I was in the garden where they buried Mai. Mai and I were lying side by side, and so I kissed her. Her beautiful eyes fluttered open; only Mai's silver hair was a hint that anything had ever happened to her. Then she screamed.  
"What's wrong?" I asked. It took me a sec to realize that both of us were naked. Mai ducked behind a tree, while I dove into the little pond and got on my knees, so that only my head was visible out of the water.  
"Well, I guess we're back. I don't think ghosts are modest." I said. When I said this, Mai started laughing. She was laughing unbelievably hard that it made me start laughing too. When we finally stopped, she looked at me long and hard.  
"You are without a doubt the stupidest, most idiotic, stubborn man I've ever met." She said very lightheartedly. Yeah, I was, I thought. Only someone as stupid as me would bargain with Hades.  
"And you're the most stuck-up, stubborn, egocentric woman I've ever met." I said. "And I love ya for it!" I said. We didn't really need to say "I love you" just yet. After all, we killed ourselves for each other.  
  
Serenity came into the garden with flowers, and the sight of me in the water nearly caused her to faint.  
"Joey! You're...where did...what happened to your hair?" She started. She was stuttering.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"You're hair, why did you dye it silver?" She asked. When did that happen? Was it when Hades touched me?  
"Serenity, this might not be the best time to ask about Joey's hair." Mai said from behind the tree. At the sound of Mai's voice, and the sight of her head peaking out from behind the tree, Serenity actually fainted.  
"Oh great." Mai said. "Now I'm stuck behind the trees until she wakes up and gets me some clothes." Tristan showed up later, and instead of faint when he saw us, he actually smiled.  
"I was wondering what those cards had told me. Welcome back you too. Now, why the hell were you naked in the garden? Should we come back in an hour?"  
"Get your mind out of the gutter, we came back this way." Mai said.  
"And nothing happened." I was quick to admit.  
"Sure, whatever you say." Tristan went back into the house and brought back an extra outfit of Serenity's. He threw it towards Mai, and then he handed me one of his T-shirts and a towel, guess Mom didn't have any of my clothes. Tristan then turned his attention to waking up Serenity, which gave us enough time to get decent.  
"You had us worried sick." Serenity said, hugging me close. "When you disappeared with that knife, I thought the worst."  
"Well, it might have well been suicide, I went to go get back Mai. Which reminds me. Mai, never do something that stupid again." I told her. Mai only smiled and said nothing. What she wanted to say would have to wait until we were alone. Then, Serenity gave me her compact, and I noticed that indeed, my hair, just like Mai's was stark white.  
"I think it looks cool, and I can always dye it back." I noticed.  
"I make it look better." Mai cracked. I was so happy that I laughed.  
  
"Finally." I said to myself. "You've returned. Now, I promise, I'll never leave you. I'll never make you think that you must give yourself to me." 


	7. Wrath of the Two Mysterious Women

Tonight was the night, I had to be ready. I was going to return to Tatiana and finally get rid of this damn pendant that I now wore around my neck. I wore it when I went to Hell, when I saved Mai, but it reminded me too much of when Mai killed herself to give it to me.  
"Joey, please, be careful. I'll wait in the garden, and if anything happens, call out for me." Mai said. Ever since we came back, she had lost her brashness and her attitude, or at least it was diminished.  
"Don't worry. I'll be finished real quick." I said, shrugging off the worry. I was the brasher one now.  
"Joey, I know how much you like to be the hero. I'm telling you now to be the wise man. Getting yourself killed again is not going to help us. I don't think I could go to Hell and bring you back like you did for me." I moved in and embraced her. Man, I wanted to do this so much before everything happened, and after my death, if I actually did die then, I resolved not to be timid anymore. Mai returned my hug, and I played with her white hair as we kept hugging for an extended minute.  
"Ghost-touched." I said. "Both of us, ya know."  
"Yeah, we've done a lot, and we're not even really lovers." She said.  
"We're not? Mai, I..."  
"I know what you're going to say, so listen good. I know you went to Hell for me. I would have done it for you. But that doesn't mean we are lovers, it means that we would defy gods and men for each other. That is something a hell of a lot deeper then love. There needs to be a new word for it."  
I smiled. Maybe she was right. I had read stories of lovers who weren't meant to be, who in the face of danger they abandoned their love for their own lives or whatever. But we were more then that. If people like those were called lovers, then we were a shitload more loving then any of them.  
  
I went to Tristan's before I left, wanting him to read the future about it. Serenity was also there, and she had been spending a lot more time at his place for some reason. I wanted to ask, but it was really none of my business. I would have never admitted it aloud, but Tristan and Serenity were good for each other. She could stop him from being stupid, and he could help her with...something.  
Tristan shuffled the cards and tried to read them, but every card he drew was the black one, the Void. Tristan kept trying to draw something else, but after drawing it ten times, he looked extremely fatigued and sick. Serenity had him lay down.  
"I guess I'm going blind." I said. Oh well, that just meant I had to be careful, something Mai had already asked me to do anyway. I rubbed the pendant as I left the house.  
"You damn thing, you better be worth your price." I told it mentally. Almost immediately after I said this, I heard the woman's voice, the voice that sounded when the pendant took Mai's life. I clenched my hands immediately, still angry at the spirit.  
"She gave her life willingly for you." The pendant said in my mind.  
"Do you think that makes it all fucking better?" I asked.  
"You went to Hades to save her." The pendant responded. It was speaking so calmly, so rationally, that I hated the voice, hated her with all my heart.  
"Without any fucking help from you. You killed her then didn't offer one fucking iota of help."  
"That's not true. I protected your life from the ghosts of Hades. Were I not there, you would have been drained of all of your lifeforce before you met Hades himself." I was stunned for a minute. She actually helped me.  
"Why didn't you say anything?"  
"I can't speak to you unless you speak to me first. Now, we can commune freely."  
"Just because you protected me once doesn't mean I like you." I told it. "You killed Mai, and I'll never forgive you for that."  
"Why are you so angry?" The voice was still fucking calm. "She was one woman, but together, we will save the world from the darkness."  
"She's...she's not just one woman to me." I admitted.  
"I...understand. She is important to you?"  
"Yes, more important to me then the entire world. I just...I wish when this all ends, that I never have to see her go again."  
"Well, I don't know very much about your human emotions, but I suppose I could make you a deal. If you'll trust me and work with me, then I'll do my best to protect her as well as you." The voice finally took a tone of sympathy, even if it was just because of the words she spoke.  
"Okay, I think I can do that. But if she gets hurt, I'm throwing you in the largest pit of acid I can find." I told it seriously. I would not see her get hurt again, I swore it.  
  
The night was dark, darker then I had ever seen a night to be. The cold air blew past me as the unmistakable presence of the faeries flitted around me. I saw Tatiana appear first, wearing the same flowery dress I saw her wear last time, first. There were also two faeries that flanked me; wearing clothes similar to Tatiana's but the Queene herself wore a crown of rose blossoms.  
"The human has returned. Now, finally, we shall have what we've been searching for." The faeries to the side of me raised their hands, and wisps of light appeared at their fingertips. At their command, they surrounded me, trapping me in a magical cage of light. Tatiana extended her hand, and the pendant started levitating off of my neck.  
"Pendant! I am your master now. I bind thee to my will, and you shall obey only me!" What was she planning? Did she lie to me as well? Well, I guess Tristan's prophecies were right, that she was deceiving me.  
I then felt a surge of energy as the cage of light disappeared around me. It tickled a little, but then the pendant fluttered down and went back around my neck.  
"I belong to this man, this hero. He is the hand of destiny, he suffered the loss of my awakening, and he shall restore the spirit of my body." The pendant's voice spoke aloud.  
"So, the ghost-touched human has claimed the pendant as his own? Then by his death, it shall belong to me. Rosepetal, Appleseed, attack!" She ordered.  
"Oh shit!" I cursed as the faeries raised their hands again. The three of them shot out balls of magical light that froze the air around me. I shivered, but the pendant started emitting a glowing light, warming the air around me. The faerie to my left shot out another blast, but the pendant's glow stopped the attack and sent it right back, disintegrating the faerie into dust.  
"The human has his own magic!" Tatiana called out. Well, maybe I could bluff her. If she thought that I could use magic like her, maybe she'd stop attacking.  
"Come on, witch. You ain't seen nothin' yet!" I taunted, provoking her into attacking me.  
"Alright, pendant." I said in my mind, hoping the lady voice was listening. "Let's see what your made of."  
"A ruse? I would have thought you would have destroyed them. But I can help you with this. Extend your arm towards the Faerie Queene on my count." The voice said. I nodded. She counted slowly, and on three I pointed towards the wretched Queene. A jolt of lightning shot from my hands, blasting into the faerie's shoulder. She stumbled.  
"My Queen!" The other faerie called.  
"We...cannot win, today, sister. Fall back. Congratulations mortal, you've defeated the Faerie Queene with your magic. But you have earned the hatred of all faeries. Watch your back." She commanded before disappearing.  
"Do not fear." The pendant's voice told me. "You are triumphant. She who would use me for her own selfish desire is defeated. She will not dare attack you, she fears you too much. If she has any intelligence, which she does, she will know better then to invoke your wrath."  
"Hey..." I said to it.  
"Yes?" It asked with a sweet voice.  
"Thanks." I said. Strangely, the voice chuckled a little.  
"No problem. Now, your Mai is waiting in the...Wait, I sense some dark magic approaching."  
"The Queene?" I asked, looking around. I couldn't see anything.  
"No, something..." But then the voice was cut off.  
"Pendant?" I asked fearfully. It wasn't responding.  
  
Then I saw the hooded woman, Andrea. She no longer had the hood on, and her hair fluttered in the wind, which for some reason was raging wildly.  
"I'll teach you what I do to people who betray me." She raised her hand again. I couldn't move. I couldn't struggle as she walked over to me, and I couldn't even wince as she struck me across the face with a stunning blow. 


	8. Pawns

When I came to, the first thing I realized was that I couldn't move my hands. They were bound together and held above me. That's when I realized I was also dangling in the air, my feet falling a few inches short of the old stone floor. Where was I?  
  
A felt a sharp sting on my back, which from the sound I guessed it was a bullwhip.  
"Wake up, boy!" Andrea's voice, no longer sweet and sexy like I first remembered it, but full of bitterness and anger, shouted at me from behind.  
  
"Uhhhh..." I made an effort to let her know I was awake, and was given another whip slash across my back.  
"How dare you!" She said, coming around to the front of me. This was the first time I had seen her without her cape on, and I must say that she was scary looking. Her hair was fiery red, and her skin was pale as chalk. She was wearing all leather, which would have under any normal circumstances been considered sexy, but I was in no mood to think with my hormones.  
"How dare I what?" I asked innocently.  
"How dare you go to that traitorous bitch Tatiana, and agree to work with her to kill me!" She whipped me again, this time across the face. I felt blood coming out of the thin wound and drip down my cheek.  
"Who are you?" I asked. "Why would Tatiana want to kill you."  
"You can't tell? Then I will show you." Andrea opened her mouth wide, and the first thing I noticed was the fangs. She had long fangs. Oh shit, this woman was a vampire!  
"I am a Vampire, yes." She said. Was she reading my mind? "I'm also a wizard. I'm also...a woman." She said. Why did she add that last bit? I could tell she was a woman.  
"So?" I asked.  
"I trusted you. I wanted you to think that I was a real woman, someone who just needed help. But no, you go to the most cruel, evil bitch this side of the world, and work with her to kill me, all so you can impress some ugly human slut!"  
"Don't you dare talk about Mai like that!" I shouted. She came up close to me, an although I struggled a little, she came up so close that I could feel the ice in her breath.  
"I suppose you know what will happen if I...leave my mark on you." She moved in close to my neck. I struggle and yelped in fear, but all she did was lick the side of my throat. It was a chill like the one I got in Hell, and it still made me shiver.  
"But no, I will restrain myself from biting your very handsome throat. I first will ask you, why did you side with Tatiana?"  
"I...I killed Tatiana!" I shouted.  
"You didn't, you only drove her away. But that doesn't answer my question." I briefly considered lying, but she was reading my mind probably anyway.  
"You already know that. Tatiana gave me a gift."  
"So it takes bribes for you to want to kill women?" She asked.  
"Tatiana scared the lying piss out of me. I also thought she'd blast me if I said no." I responded. Please don't let her be probing my thoughts.  
  
"I suppose that will have to do." She said, stepping back away from me. I couldn't help but sigh a bit of relief. I couldn't stand having her so close to me. The only person I wanted that close to me was someone I cared about. Someone like Mai.  
  
"Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why do you want this pendant? I sacrificed for it, so I'm keeping it." I said.  
"Idiot! Don't you know anything about it." She shouted. The pendant was, thankfully, still around my neck, Andrea hadn't taken it.  
"So tell me then." I ordered her.  
She took a step back. "The pendant is actually the spirit of the previous Faerie Queene, Alana. Tatiana wanted it to destroy Alana's spirit and take it's power for herself."  
"Then I did the right thing in keeping it."  
"Yes. But now, I want it. I will use the power to cast a spell of darkness about the world. This way, I'll never have to lie alone in my coffin, vulnerable to all those who will to drive a stake through my heart. Now, give it to me!" She ordered.  
"No way! Mai gave her life for this pendant, and it belongs to me, not you. You'll have to kill me if you want it." I was really in no position to be saying this things, she could easily drain me in the positions we were in. But it sounded like she needed me, needed me alive, so I had to brave my chances.  
"Don't tempt me." She ordered, stepping up close and licking my neck again. I could never get used to that chill. She then started talking again.  
"Joey, now, I'll tell you something. You may be safe from me, but your sister and friends are not. Either you will help me, or I will kill them. It is quite simple." I was safe? The pendant was probably protecting me. Dammit, she had me by the balls. I couldn't risk Serenity, Tristan, or any of them.  
"No! Don't...don't hurt them. I'll do what you want as long as you don't hurt them."  
"I knew you'd see reason, you humans are all the same with your inability to watch others suffer. You will meet me in the garden tomorrow night, with the pendant. You will help me unleash the spell of darkness that will consume this land. Meet me at the dark of midnight, or your friends will die."  
"Alright." I agreed. "As long as they're safe, I'll do what you want. But you hurt them at all, even if you bump into them accidentally, and the deal is off. I'll kill you myself." Andrea waved her hands, and I felt slightly dizzy for a second. When my senses cleared, I found that I was back in the glade where she kidnapped me.  
  
I went to the garden first, to see if Mai was still there. She was sitting on the ground, looking the water at her silver hair. When she saw me. She stood up and looked immediately worried.  
"You're bleeding." She said. Her calmness in a crisis had returned, and I was glad. I would have run around screaming if she had been hurt. I took off my shirt and she dressed the wounds with some bandages. She must've anticipated that I'd run into trouble, and brought it with her.  
"Are you alright?"  
"Yeah. The Faerie bitch won't bother us anymore."  
"Joey, what aren't you telling me?" She asked. How did she know that I was hiding something? I couldn't lie to her, so I told her everything, about Andrea. Her face stayed calm as she heard the entire story.  
"I'd tell you you're foolish if you go along with her, but she had your number. Be careful, then. This magic shit will be the death of us all if we're not careful. You know what Hell is like, so don't go there again."  
"I'll be careful, but if it comes down to me or you..."  
"Finish that sentence and I'll never be able to respect you again. I don't want someone who'll sacrifice themselves for me, I want someone who did what you did, damn everything for love. That's what it's all about, and that's what we need to do."  
"You're...you're right Mai. I'll..." But no more words needed to be said.  
  
We woke up the next night. Nothing happened with me and Mai, nothing much, just something very, very solidifying in our relationship, but it wasn't sex or anything, I was still not ready for that. It was just...letting out tensions. I went to Tristan's desperate to get some advice. When I saw him, he looked spooked.  
"I had a terrible dream last night, and now that you're here, I'll consult the cards. When I tried to do readings for you before, I always got the dark card, but now, perhaps with this dream, I can shed light on this mystery."  
  
Tristan shuffled the cards. He drew first the Fool, then the inverted High Priestess. I told him about Andrea.  
"I see. Now, in my dream, I saw some symbols." He held up the symbol of a heart, but a pumping heart in the body, not a Valentine's day one. It was gross, but Tristan drew several cards. He drew the Queen of Swords, the Queen of Cups, and the Six of Swords.  
"I think this means something about..." He trailed off, and drew another card, the dark one.  
"These three are pawns in the bringing forth of darkness. Everyone is being used or deceived."  
"Tristan?"  
"The Queen of Swords, I believe, represents Mai, scarred by her past. The Queen of Cups is the spirit of that pendant, loving and giving. The meaning of the Six of Swords eludes me, but it means something about travel...or a person of travel perhaps."  
"Tristan." Serenity said. "The Six of Swords is a card of the gypsy. Somehow, you are being deceived by the dark spell."  
"If I'm being deceived, then perhaps that means that my Sight is being blocked somehow, and that was when I could only draw the Dark cards."  
  
I had heard enough about being used, so I left the room to let Tristan and Serenity figure it out  
"Hey, spirit." I called to the pendant.  
"I know, I heard. There's nothing we can do, right. I'll stand by you till the end. We've got no choice. Remember, that everyone is being deceived, even Andrea. If we can trick her, then maybe we can stop this from happening."  
"It sounds good." I said. I had to think of a plan, and think of one quickly. The fact that Andrea would be able to create vampires freely at any time was a prospect that didn't thrill me. 


End file.
